#ozaviation

Sad death at Goulburn – parachute operation

It is always sad when a death occurs – at Goulburn – parachute operation, reported in the Daily Telegraph attached below.

It does not report a number of “off-target” excursions while landing, the jumping through cloud, the near misses with aircraft over time. The most recent one which was reported to this reporter, as a collision into a hanger by a jumper.

The jump-zone has a limited adherence to the rules of the Parachute Federation. The existence of a number of obstructions and the inclusion of runway 04/22 in the jump zone means it has minimum adherence to standards that are demanded by the Parachute Federation.

Skydive instructor Tony Rokov saved life of boy, 14

November 22, 2015 11:00pm

Andrew Carswell and Amy Harris The Daily Telegraph

One dead after parachute accident in Goulburn

A TANDEM skydive instructor who died in a freak accident in the state’s Southern Highlands had spent years parachuting into war zones as a special forces commando for the Australian Defence Force.

Tony Rokov, a 44-year-old father of two from Cronulla, died during a tandem skydive jump at Goulburn’s Adrenalin Skydive on Saturday when a sudden blast of wind flung him and his tandem jumper, a 14-year-old boy, into the ground on landing.

His last action was an act of heroism; wrapping his legs and arms around the Canberra teenager and twisting his body to absorb the imminent fall.

It was likely to have saved the teen’s life. He was flown to Sydney Children’s Hospital on Saturday in a critical condition, but had shown dramatic improvement yesterday.

“He is now in a serious but stable condition,’’ a hospital spokeswoman said.

Adrenalin Skydive chief instructor Yaakov Bokay said it was clear his colleague manoeuvred himself to take the impact first, when the pair’s canopy was swept sideways in a gust of wind just 20m from the ground, before they slammed into the ground.